Wireless, the DNC and all the news that’s fit to distribute

As you may know, this week’s Democratic National Convention – right here in RCRWireless.com’s beautiful, mile-high backyard – is very much a wireless affair.
Barack Obama’s campaign set a high bar for mobile with a much-publicized effort to notify supporters via text message of Sen. Joe Biden’s selection as running mate. Glitches notwithstanding – the media actually scooped news of the veep pick, and some supporters didn’t receive the message until many hours later – the effort allowed the candidate to cozy up to nearly 3 million U.S. mobile subscribers, according to Nielsen Mobile, as his campaign built an invaluable list of contacts.
And the virtual voter-touching was just the beginning. MediaFlo added three new channels of simulcast news content just in time for this week’s event, and Google has created a mobile microsite for politics junkies looking for the latest info or the candidates’ YouTube channels.
But the most interesting trend out of this week’s event – and next week’s Republican National Convention in Minneapolis – may be the continuing emergence of the mobile phone as a platform for producing content, in addition to consuming it. A few examples:
–AT&T Inc. is teaming with Rock the Vote to deliver mobile reports from student journalists at both conventions. The effort features a high-tech bus where users can register to vote (and, depressingly, play Guitar Hero); reports will be distributed through Rock the Vote’s Internet channels and on AT&T Cellular Video.
–Mobile streaming service Buzzwire Inc. has enlisted Barely Political’s Obama Girl to provide daily reports on the convention through a new dedicated channel that will also offer clips from around Denver as well as man-on-the-street interviews.
–Fourteen DNC-accredited, state-based bloggers will leverage floor access to distribute mobile video clips through PoliticsBlue, a new community-based channel from Zannel. (Text DEM to 58888 to check out the content.)
Of course, that short list doesn’t include established mobile content distribution channels such as Twitter, Flickr and dozens of others, where amateurs are joining old-school journalists this week to document everything from Michelle Obama’s address to the police clampdown.
It’s true that almost all of these new distribution channels are badly in need of a filter, and most are largely unusable as any reliable source of news today. But their influence – and their credibility – will grow as traditional media outlets continue to see their resources dwindle and thus look to consumers to serve as ersatz (read: unpaid) reporters. A decent-quality mobile video clip of a skirmish in the streets, for instance, or of a behind-the-scenes gaffe from a well-known pol at either convention may percolate up from the obscure moblogosphere to the big leagues of network TV.
And while Twitter is a novel way to convey a quick, 160-character quip, mobile as a media-production platform is sure to make great strides in the next year as devices like the iPhone gain traction and distribution channels improve. Obama’s innovative way of reaching voters through mobile has grabbed headlines during the current campaign, and surely marks the foundation of a powerful new way for politicians to court voters. But the real strength in mobile lies in integrating with the Internet to allow users to communicate with one another – or with millions of others at the same time.
———————————————————-
Look for a full-blown recap later this week of all the wireless-related news coming out of the DNC from RCR Wireless News’ Mike Dano and David Kaye, who are on scene.